The Importance of Picking Up Tells in Live Poker Games

In live poker games ‘tells’, which are the signs inadvertently given off by opponents concerning the strength of their hands, are a very important factor in decision making. Many tells are subtle and would go un-noticed by most players. Picking up an accurate tell on an opponent gives you a huge advantage at the table – you can fold hands when behind and bet amounts to maximize your profits from a hand when ahead.

This article looks at the importance of picking up tells in live poker games in a number of ways. We start with the principle made famous by Mike Caro – the mad genius of poker – as to what certain tells mean. We then look at involuntary tells and compare these to ‘acted’ tells. Finally we examine the relative importance you should assign to tells when compared to the other information available – such as bet sizes and flop texture.
In his infamous book ‘Poker Tells’, Mike Caro introduced a principle which has remained the central concept behind using body language and speech signals in poker games ever since. This principle is ‘Weak Means Strong and Strong Means Weak’. That is to say, an opponent acting weak – perhaps sighing or ‘reluctantly’ betting – is likely to hold a strong hand, and vice versa for an opponent who ‘acts’ strong.
This principle holds for both the obvious signs of strength and weakness given off by opponents at the poker table, and for many less obvious signs. For example a player who suddenly appears disinterested in a hand, perhaps looking away or chatting with a neighboring player, is usually strong. A player who has a sudden interest in a hand and maybe attempts to ‘stare their opponent down’ may in fact be weak.

Some tells are not acted, instead being physical effects of the excitement of spiking a good hand or the nervousness of bluffing. Shaking hands is an example, this is often brought about by the excitement of flopping a monster holding. Conversely an opponent who suddenly goes still and quiet – even holding their breath – are more likely to be bluffing. The signal here is that bluffers do not want to draw attention to them selves as they will be naturally nervous.

The final group of tells involve involuntary reactions. An example here is that a player who spikes a strong hand on the flop will usually quickly look at their chips – watching your opponents look at the flop can help reveal information about the strength of their hands. Likewise many players who intend to fold pre-flop will signal this in some way, perhaps with the placement of their cards – this can give you valuable information about your position at the table.

When assessing the importance of a tell at the poker table the other information available should also be included. For example the pre-flop betting will give you information about the strength of an opponent’s hand. A tight player raising from early position and betting out on the flop who exhibits ‘weak’ tells may still have a high pair!

You should also be conscious of opponents who are aware of the poker psychology behind tells. Some will deliberately attempt to mislead you by ‘reversing’ their tells at an important moment. This makes it important that you know who is aware of tells and using this information to their advantage at the table.

To summarize, tells are an important aspect of live poker play. They can help you assess when an opponent is weak or strong. Together with information on betting this saves you bets when behind and allows you to win more when ahead. There are several types of tell that can be used – all follow Mike Caro’s central principle that ‘Weak Means Strong and Strong Means Weak’.